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Wisconsin oil refinery fire extinguished, 20 injured in explosion

By Daniel Uria

April 26 (UPI) -- A fire that caused an explosion at a Wisconsin oil refinery that injured at least 20 people was extinguished Thursday night.

The fire was extinguished and evacuation called off at 6:45 p.m, according to an update on the Douglas County government website. Residents were still encouraged to remain away from their homes for another two hours.

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The blast took place at around 10 a.m. at the Husky Energy refinery in Superior, Wis., and a representative for Essentia Health said 11 people were transported to hospitals in Superior and Duluth, Minn. Five more were taken to a Level 2 trauma center in Duluth.

Husky Energy said there were no fatalities in the blast and all patients were in stable condition.

Douglas County Emergency Management ordered everyone located 10 miles south of the refinery and within a 1-mile radius in all other directions to evacuate.

"We are continuing to evacuate. If you do not need to be out and about, please stay at home. The streets are overfilled and emergency vehicles are unable to move about as they need to. Thanks everyone for helping us with this," Superior police wrote on Facebook.

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The first blast ignited asphalt, sending black smoke billowing out of the refinery, and was followed by a series of seven or eight more explosions around noon.

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